Chromatography involves the separation of a mixture of components by passing the components, contained within a mobile phase, through a stationary phase having different affinities for each component. The separated components can be identified and/or quantified using a variety of detectors. A typical chromatography system includes a single column, or dimension, containing the stationary phase. One of the fundamental limits of traditional chromatographic techniques is the limited number of components that can be resolved in a single analysis.
This limitation can be addressed using multi-dimensional chromatography. For example, in two-dimensional chromatography a particular group of components is transferred to a second separation column. The group of components is typically one that is not well separated on the first dimension and may co-elute in a single peak or band. The group of components, however, can be better separated on the second separation column. The second separation column typically has an orthogonal mode of separation as compared to the first separation column.
To derive the full benefit of the second chromatography column, and of multi-dimensional chromatography, the interface and transfer between the two dimensions should be compatible. With many multi-dimensional chromatography techniques, and especially those involving orthogonal modes of separation, the interface and transfer are not compatible. The mobile phases used for the orthogonal chromatography modes are mainly responsible for the incompatibility.
The present disclosure relates to an enhanced multi-dimensional chromatography system and method using selectable At-Column Dilution to improve compatibility of the interface and transfer between multiple dimensions.